


Merry Christmas

by ninomihime



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-26 13:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2654021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninomihime/pseuds/ninomihime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is inspired from Ninomiya Kazunari's solo "Merry Christmas". Ninomiya Kazunari keeps running into Santa Claus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merry Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Ninomiya Kazunari or any Arashi member what-so-ever. This is just a fanfiction written by a human who can't seem to fall asleep at some strange hour. Actually, I don't own anything that you find familiar in this story.

Snow.

 

One issue with winter is that Tokyo can be covered in snow and luckily for Ninomiya Kazunari, his car wasn't going to risk the crazy drivers or the possible ice on the road. Packing up his 3DS, he skipped his breakfast and headed out of his apartment. He was on the way to work to film a new episode of _Arashi Ni Shiyagare_. Knowing that the dreaded holiday known as Christmas was coming up, Nino wasn't thrilled to know what kind of dumb assignment would be on task for filming.

 

Within no time, Nino walked down a few blocks, then hopped onto a train at the local station. There, he sat down and took out his 3DS from his coat pocket. Mario was waiting for him and he knew that people would disregard him if he was gaming on the train. He was about to load the game, when he noticed a small green light lit up. He smirked to himself. Finally, a street pass. It had been awhile since he received a street pass while out. Aside from Akihabara, he would only get street passes here and there. He immediately opened up the street pass application. He was beyond surprised by what he saw. His little Mii character was standing, awaiting the new street passer. The street passer showed up, it was a female character, wearing yellow, a strange burger on her head. What surprised him was that _CharlotteHime_ (the screenname) introduced to him a new region! He muttered to himself, "United States... North Carolina..." He never really cared much about the states of America to know anything about North Carolina and really.... who outside of North Carolina knows anything about North Carolina?! Judging by the map that quickly flashed on his screen, he figured that North Carolina was located on the east coast, not really near the places he knew... like New York and Florida. After getting a new puzzle piece and having her mii flee from a boss, Nino quickly moved over to Mario. He wanted to at least beat a level before getting off the train. In that time, he got completely absorbed in the game.

 

Once his stop came up, he pocketed his 3DS and quickly got off the train. While walking up the stairs to the main road, he noticed a blonde foreigner holding onto an extremely decorated pink 3DS. Instead of taking too much notice of the foreigner though, he stared at the 3DS. Thoughts like, ' _Why would you decorate your 3DS so feminine-like'_ crossed his mind. He shook the thoughts out of his head and went back to walking towards work. He absolutely hated December. Without his car, the Christmas spirit was everywhere. Shops having sales... and what Nino hated the most... hundreds of Santas... Santas promoting companies, Santas handing out tissues... Santas who are just creepy looking... Santas who are trying to make kids happy.... etc etc. He kept hearing bells ringing to the point where he was ready to put ear plugs in his ears. Instead of paying attention to the (what-seemed-like) millions of Santas, Nino placed his focus on the ridiculously decorated 3DS. He continued to walk focusing on that single item until, it disappeared from his sight. He stopped. The bells in the area seemed much louder to him. He turned to his left and noticed a small bakery. The bakery had a Christmas sale as well. Go figures. Shrugging, Nino went back on his mission to get to work. After passing more Santas and collecting 32 tissues, Nino made it to his destination.

 

Once he entered into the workplace, his normal professional self came out. He greeted several people and went to the area of filming. He reviewed things with the staff and then did what he always did. The staff's plans were to film several episodes at a time, so after several hours, Nino finally was released from the workplace. He quickly thanked everyone for their hard work, threw his coat on, and left the building. He couldn't wait to get home. On his way home, he once again noticed several Santas. Though, they definitely multiplied since the morning. He thought to himself how ridiculous all these Santas in one area was. Obviously it would destroy the illusion of one true Santa Claus. As he walked, he was stopped by a Santa... a very different type of Santa.

 

A radiant smile emitted from the Caucasian, blonde-haired, hazel-eyed female Santa in-front of him. Nino blinked a few times, thinking that perhaps he overworked himself and is finally seeing things on his way home. The woman smiled, "We're giving out free cocoa today because of the weather. Here." She held out a cup of hot chocolate towards him. It took Nino about a minute to take the cocoa and mutter, "Thanks." The woman nodded towards him, then directed her attention to another passer-by. Nino took a sip of the cocoa, "Mm, delicious." He looked at the sign of the place behind the woman and noticed that it was the bakery. He began to walk again, casually sipping on the hot beverage to keep warm. He thought to himself that it was strange that the woman didn't comment to him about being well... Ninomiya Kazunari of Arashi. Naturally, anyone living and working in this area would at least recognize his face. In a way, he was refreshed that she treated him like anyone else, yet he also was a little irritated that she didn't at least show some sort of amazement seeing a famous face.

 

Day after day, the same events took place: walking, Santas, more Santas, work, walking again, even more Santas, and well... her. It seemed that every time Nino was walking home, the same encounter with that Santa happened. Over and over again. Exactly the same every time. No other words were spoken. It was beginning to be a normal occurrence to Nino: on the way home, get free cocoa from the cute Santa, and go home. He actually appreciated the free cocoa more than he would ever let on. Ninomiya Kazunari was a creature of hibernation, so naturally, he'd rather be in his comfortable apartment where he's got a heater to keep him warm. Being outside in the snowy weather only made him feel miserable and want to hasten his pace to get home. If it wasn't for his professionalism, he would probably never show up to work during weather like this.

 

The 23rd came up and Nino began his regular winter routine. While walking to work, he stopped in front of the bakery: observing it. He thought to himself about how tomorrow is an extremely important day: Aiba's Birthday. Smiling a bit, he turned away from the shop and began to walk to work. While at work, he wrapped an arm around Aiba, "Ne, Aiba-shi... you're coming over tomorrow right?" Aiba nodded, "Of course! I thought that we already planned that..." Nino nodded, "Right, right. I just wanted to verify that you were definitely coming over." Aiba laughed, "If I didn't show up, you'd spend Christmas Eve all alone. That in itself can NEVER happen." Nino shook his head, "I would never spend the 24th alone! You know Aiba-chan... that no matter where you are in the world, I will spend your birthday with you." Nino always knew Christmas, but after he met his friend Aiba Masaki, Christmas was an irrelevant holiday to him. Why celebrate a western holiday when you can celebrate one of your best friends' birthday? After Nino met Aiba, he made a promise to himself that no matter what, he would spend at least part of the 24th with Aiba. Usually, that meant a trip to Chiba; however, this time, Aiba was so busy with many events that he wouldn't be able to visit his family until the 25th... considering how packed his schedule in the morning of the 24th was. Nino on the other hand, luckily managed to score off for the 24th this year... meaning that he could make proper arrangements to celebrate a miniature party with him and Aiba.

 

When work ended, Nino told himself that he would pick up a cake before getting home. While on his travels, he was stopped by a rather large, Japanese man dressed as Santa. He handed him a cup of cocoa, "Please enjoy our complimentary hot chocolate." Nino froze for a second, taking the cup of cocoa and cocked his head to the side. It immediately crossed his mind that the cute Santa wasn't the one giving him his cocoa. This change of pace bothered him. The more he thought about it, the more upset he got. The Santa looked at him, "Sir, are you alright?" Nino nodded, "Not a problem... this place... uhh..." The Santa spoke up, "Ah, yes, we're a bakery. As we might not be very large, we are having a fairly large Christmas Sale right now." Nino let out a sigh, "I don't really care about the _Christmas_ sale... anyways, you do make cakes, right?" The Santa nodded, "We can prepare any cake you like." Nino smiled, "Thank you, I'll be taking a look then." With that said, he entered the bakery. When he entered, he immediately noticed that he was the only customer. There were a few small tables with chairs.

 

The foreign, female Santa smiled from behind the counter, "Welcome!" Nino froze for a second, then approached her, "Aaah, so you were here today!" The woman let out a small giggle, "Of course, my off days are Thursdays and Fridays; however, I've been working everyday due to the need of extra workers during this season." Nino let out a slight chuckle, "Sorry, sorry, I probably surprised you with that comment...." The woman shook her head, "It's alright. Anyways, may I help you?" Nino nodded, "Uh, yeah... I'd like to buy a cake." The woman smiled, "A birthday cake... I'm guessing?" Nino nodded, "Exact- eeh, how did you know?!" She smiled towards him, "Intuition. I figured that Ninomiya Kazunari wouldn't be one for purchasing a Christmas cake." Nino was stunned. She did know who he was after all, "Eeeh?! You knew that I was me all along?!" The woman nodded, "Well... I've been living here for over a year now... it'd kind of difficult to miss any of the Arashi members on the tv...." Nino smirked, "Well, well... it can't be helped..." The woman giggled, "So, Ninomiya-san... would it be a strawberry cake you're interested in?" Nino thought for a moment, "Mmm...." He began to think about Aiba. Aiba really did enjoy eating the strawberry off the top of a cake. He chuckled to himself, "Yeah, a strawberry cake works." With that said, the woman pulled out a freshly baked strawberry cake. She began to add the icing. Nino stood really close to the counter, watching her every move, "Uhh... if I may ask... why exactly did you time a strawberry cake at this perfect timing?" The woman didn't once flinch, even though she was concentrating really hard on perfecting the garnishes onto the cake, she was smiling the whole time. A smile that Nino remembered the first time he saw her. The woman responded, "I had a small hunch that you would want to purchase a strawberry cake today." Nino cocked his head, "Oh really? What gave you that impression?"

 

The woman continued to work on the cake, "Well, to begin with, it seems that we live in the same apartment complex. You probably haven't noticed, but we both leave the apartment to head to work around the same time... on top of that we take the same train... the same stop... I can only imagine that your work is obviously at a television studio on most days, so... judging by that, if you were to purchase a cake it would have to be here... since you probably wouldn't go out of your way to locate a bakery outside of your normal route." Nino was quite impressed. When he purchased cakes, he usually was heading to Chiba and would get one in that area, so since he was staying home for the holiday, he could easily pick up a cake at a nearby bakery where he didn't have to go out of his way. She was insanely correct. Yet, he was definitely surprised that she lived in the same apartment complex. A bit dumbfounded, Nino became silent. He continued to watch her make the finishing touches on the cake. Once the cake was completely finished, she rang up the price, "The total comes to 2300 yen." Nino paid in cash. He grabbed his change and the cake. He began to walk to the door. "Thank you." Her sweet, quiet voice filled the air as Nino opened the door. The cold breeze began to come into the small bakery, as he turned to look at her, "Say, what's your name?" The woman continued to smile, "It's Charlotte." Nino flashed her a smile, "I'll be seeing you around then, Charlotte-chan." With a small wink, he left the bakery and began to head home.

 

Once home, he set the cake away, then went straight to gaming. He gamed the majority of the night, until he figured that it would be a good time to go to bed.

 

When he awoke that morning, he spent three early hours gaming, then began to tidy up the place for Aiba. He went to his local convenience store to purchase a few things, then came back. He decided that they would have Aiba's favorite dish: Mabo Tofu. So, Nino decided to cook as part of the birthday present. After a few hours, Aiba finally arrived.

 

When Aiba walked into the apartment, Nino immediately yelled out, "Happy Birthday Aiba-shi!" He handed him a beer and they clinked glasses together. Aiba was excited, "Thank you!" Nino smiled, "Aaah, it's nothing! Anyways! On top of delicious beer..." He rushed into the kitchen and made up two bowls of mabo tofu, bringing them all out. "Jya-jyaaaaaaaaaan! Mabo tofu for dinner!" Nino placed the food down on the table with triumph. Aiba was overjoyed. The two of them then ate and drank. They decided to wait a bit before eating cake, so they decided to play a few rounds of Mario Kart. After that, Nino brought out the cake and began to sing the Happy Birthday song. When Nino placed the cake down, he was quite surprised himself to see that ' _Happy Birthday Aiba_ ' was written there. He let out a chuckle, which surprised Aiba.

 

"What's so funny, Nino?" Aiba questioned after he took a photo of the cake with his cellphone.

Nino shrugged, "It's nothing."

Aiba raised an eyebrow.

"Really! It's nothing! It's nothing!"

Aiba smirked, "Eeh! Let me guess... you met someone recently!"

Nino raised an eyebrow, "W-what?! What are you talking about? How does meeting someone have to do with anything?"

Aiba laughed, "Well Nino, the last time you had that kind of expression on your face was back when she-who-must-never-be-named was with you."

Nino laughed, "Are you serious? Well, I'll tell you right now that this has NOTHING to do with a girl... well, it does to a degree, but nothing like _her_."

 

Aiba was beyond intruiged by this, "Oh really? Then explain what's so funny."

 

Nino let out a small breath, "Well, you know how I mentioned that recently I've been getting free hot chocolate when I passed a bakery from work?" Aiba nodded, "Yeah..." Nino continued, "Well, I always said that Santa gave me hot chocolate. And indeed... it was Santa. Well, just that it's not any ordinary Santa... it's a rather cute foreign woman Santa. So... I guess you could say Mrs. Claus?" Aiba was amused, "So, cute Santa was giving you cocoa... continue!" Nino nodded, "I'm getting there Aiba-shi... anyways, as I was saying, yesterday I was on my way home and a male Santa gave me cocoa. I knew that I had to get you your birthday cake, so I entered the bakery and she was the one making cakes. Long story short, she knew that I was going to buy a birthday cake, but I never mentioned who the cake was for. Yet, she somehow knew that it was you, since she wrote your name here." Aiba smiled, "This is great Nino!" Nino was a little confused, "What's great?" 

 

Smiling wider, Aiba stood up and grabbed Nino's hands, forcing him to stand up, "Was that Charlotte-chan by any chance?" Nino was flustered that Aiba knew her name, "Eh? You know her?" Aiba nodded, "Yeah, yeah! She's a friend of mine! We met about a year ago... I was stopping by your apartment to give back one of your mangas and well, as I entered the elevator, I accidentally bumped into her. Long story short, I was surprised at how well her Japanese was and we started talking. Whenever I came over to your place I usually ran into her, so we kind of became friends through that." Nino was completely dumbfounded. How did Aiba manage to hide the fact that he knew this girl for that long?

 

Aiba then grabbed their coats, "Come on Nino! Let's go see her now!" Nino shook his head, "Why on earth would we go see her now when she's working?" Aiba smiled, "Because, it's Christmas!" Nino froze, "Eh? No... no no no... Aiba-shi... you definitely have the wrong impression!"

 

Aiba frowned, "Nino... don't you ever think that it would be nice to get back into a relationship? Ever since that bad fall-out with she-who-must-not-be-named happened, you've hardly even glanced at a girl... I kind of miss the happiness you used to have when you were dating..."

 

Nino twinged, "Look Aiba-shi, I'm a man who's not good in relationships. Even when I try to make them work, they don't... so basically, you could say that I've given up. Besides, what makes you think that I want to date Charlotte-chan?"

 

Aiba shrugged, "Why not date her? Think about it Nino... you find her amusing enough that you actually know her name... you've let her into your life, even if you don't see it yourself... she lives in the same complex, so seeing each other would be easy...."

 

Nino sighed, "Ok ok... I get what you're saying but... there's no reason to rush a relationship upon someone!"  
 

Aiba frowned, "Alright, alright... instead though... how about you at least make the effort to be good friends that could possibly turn into more?"

 

Nino shrugged, "Hell, I'll make an effort to be her friend, but don't expect anything more than that."

 

Aiba smiled, "Then, let's head out!"

 

Nino shook his head, "Are you crazy? There's no way that I'm heading out at this hour on Christmas! Everyone will take pictures and twitter will be overflowing with the love of Ninoai..." He shuddered, "I really would prefer not dealing with fans outliving their fantasies about us tonight..."

 

Aiba thought for a moment, "In that case...." He rushed into Nino's bedroom and rummaged through his closet, pulling out a large bag. Smiling, he opened it up, "I figured that you would have these still." Nino stared at the bag, trying to remember what possibly could be in it. Then, Aiba pulled out two Santa costumes, complete with wigs including a beard.

 

It was then that Nino remembered a gag gift from several years ago. Their manager got so fed up with him complaining about Christmas that she got everyone in the group to buy something Christmas-like for him as a means to annoy him. That year, he ended up getting two Santa suits: one from Aiba and the other one from Ohno. Nino let out a large chuckle, "I totally forgot about those." Aiba smiled, "Well, shall we suit up as Santa? No one will ever recognize us!" Laughing, quite amused with the idea, Nino agreed.

 

Aiba and Nino then left the apartment, clothed in complete Santa-gear. They were walking together, not even getting strange looks at all. Occasionally, a child would get excited seeing the figure of Santa, but that was about it. They got onto the train and sat down next to each other. Rather than being recognized as Arashi, people took photos to post two Santas sitting next to each other on twitter. People get amused so easily in this day and age. Once they made it to the specific stop, they got off. Nino looked up into the sky. It was the first day that snow wasn't falling from the sky. It was gorgeous, the clear night sky filled with stars. Aiba was a foot ahead of him, turning towards him, "Ooooi! Come on, let's go!" Nino's attention drifted from the night sky to Aiba dressed as Santa, motioning him to come that way. The scene actually left an impression upon him. The giant green tree, covered in bright green, red, and white lights was behind Aiba, showing off a nice silhouette of Santa-Aiba. On top of that, in the distance, several Santas stood. If standing from Nino's angle, one would say that there was a large diagonal line of Santas infront of the station.

 

With the time standing still, Nino really began to feel how cold it was. Yet, the scene infront of him was too perfect for him to move along. He really could've admired the site all night; however, Aiba had different plans. Aiba then walked back to where Nino was, grabbed his hand and began to lead him. After a few steps, Nino broke away from Aiba's hold, "I got it, I got it! Let's go see her."

 

Aiba smiled, walking at a normal pace next to Nino, "Say Nino... are you finally beginning to understand why I'm blessed to have been born on Christmas?" Nino laughed, "Are you seriously going to lecture me into liking the holiday?" Aiba shook his head, "No no! I just wanted to know the answer..." Nino laughed, "I get it, Aiba-shi. Christmas, as commercialized and irritating as it is does actually have a nice side to it." Aiba stopped walking and looked directly at Nino, "Exactly, which is why it would be the best birthday present for me if you would actually spend Christmas like Christmas." Nino froze up. At that moment, Aiba knew that Nino would do what Nino wanted. Aiba didn't want to pressure him any more than he should. Instead, Aiba took a few more feet ahead and got a free hot chocolate from his friend Charlotte.

 

Smiling, "Charlotte-chan! Thank you!"

Charlotte smiled towards Aiba, "You're most welcome, Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas Aiba-san." 

 

As the two spoke under the beautiful night sky, Nino stayed frozen in that one spot. Watching from afar. He noticed how incredibly happy Aiba was talking with Charlotte. At the same time, Nino began to feel a little bit lonely. Seeing and knowing how much closer Aiba was with Charlotte than him seemed to hit him harder than he ever imagined. Perhaps Nino was just expecting to think of Charlotte as his foreign friend that's not in show business? Perhaps he thought of Charlotte as someone that really doesn't know Arashi? Seeing Aiba with her just put into perspective that Charlotte was any other girl. Yet, she wasn't any other girl. She was a woman that somehow managed to capture Ninomiya Kazunarui's interest. Watching, just watching, Nino could feel that he wanted to get closer to her; however, he noticed how comfortable Aiba was with her. He noticed her soft smile towards Aiba. It was different from the smile he would receive from her.

 

Suddenly, spontaneous snow flurries filled the night sky. The stars weren't as noticeable as they were beforehand.

 

Aiba began to walk away from Charlotte, in the direction that Nino was. He hastened his pace a bit and stopped when he got to Nino, "Nino... do your best! I'll see you later! I'm going to head to Chiba!" With that said, Aiba rushed towards the train station. Nino smiled in the direction that Aiba went, "That idiot... always doing his best..."

 

Rushing footsteps were heard coming from behind Nino, so he glanced in that direction and to his surprise, he noticed Charlotte running.

"Ah, Charlotte-chan!" Nino said aloud, yet instead of her stopping, she continued to run. She ran, and ran. With nothing left, Nino began to chase after her, thinking to himself that this year he'll make his first Christmas wish: to shrink the distance between him and Charlotte. He couldn't believe how this girl was so close to Aiba. He couldn't believe that Aiba kept her a secret for a whole year. This girl, obviously, Nino would have to get to know her. Yet, what he really was wondering was what kind of game Aiba was playing  here.

 

Without another thought, Nino sped up, chasing Charlotte. It was then that he noticed her stop in-front of the station suddenly. She watched as Aiba ran into the station. At that time, Nino stood behind her, "Ch-Charlotte-chan..."

 

She turned around, looking at Nino. She took notice of the giant red suit, and even closer, she noticed his face was red from exhausting himself from running. She began to laugh, "Ninomiya-san... in all this white snow... you... you sort of look like a strawberry on the top of a cake."

 

Nino's breathing from running turned normal and he stood in a better posture. He thought of the words she said and remembering that he was wearing a Santa outfit, he laughed aloud, "Yeah... I guess I can see how you think that..."

 

Nino couldn't help but admire her. Her smile was simply irresistible. An extremely attractive quality. The smile in itself was incredibly similar to Aiba's smile. Perhaps that's why Nino got drawn to this woman? Shaking any and all thoughts from his head, he watched her in fascination.

 

Charlotte spoke again, "I was surprised to see Aiba-san today... I honestly didn't think that I would be able to see him." A small tint of sadness glazed over her eyes, then her eyes were filled with color again, "I'm even more surprised to see you today. There must be a reason that you came all this way out here."

 

Nino laughed inwardly. The reason he came out there... originally it was to amuse Aiba by going out on Christmas. To see her for a short amount of time to appease Aiba. Yet, little did he expect that Aiba would take his chance to head up to Chiba without him this year. Nino wasn't sure what to think of everything, but he did know one thing: he wanted to eventually get to know this Charlotte. See how she's important to Aiba. Also, he wanted to know exactly where she would wind up in his own life.

 

Christmas is just another day on the calendar... people over glorify it into something amazing. Even if Aiba wanted Nino to experience the appeal of Christmas, Nino still found the day to compete with Aiba's birthday. Yet, this whole adventure did show him that Christmas isn't a pointless day. It's not a pointless holiday. It's a day to spend with loved ones.

 

Smiling, Nino looked directly into her eyes, "Merry Christmas."

 

With those two words that he only speaks on variety shows, he took this time to walk into the station and get on a train. The next train to Chiba. He most definitely needed to finish celebrating Aiba's birthday with Aiba. Sure Nino wanted to get to know Charlotte, but he felt that becoming so close on Christmas was strange. Christmas is known as a lover's holiday and Nino had no intention of having the wrong idea get out. After the Christmas holiday... just then, Nino thought to himself, just then that he would find ways to get to know her better.

**Author's Note:**

> I mainly wanted to write this short story, since I got the idea after listening to Merry Christmas by Ninomiya Kazunari. In the middle of the story I thought, "I definitely can make this longer if I want." Yet, as of right now, I don't plan to do that. If the demand for a sequel is there, then maybe I will write a sequel. I do know exactly the type of relationship that Charlotte has with Aiba in my mind and I also am a huge fan for Nino/OC fics. Yet, as a whole, I really wouldn't know how a sequel would turn out until I actually write it.


End file.
